Eugine Wabwile 
BY MICHAEL SIFUNA.
Thousands of parents and the first cohort of the CBC have flooded schools across the country to start upper secondary education under the CBE system. While some parents are complaining that other students are being given places in schools of the opposite sex, Education Minister Julius Migos Ogamba said the practice is going well and parents still have the opportunity to change schools.
As the country’s secondary schools begin to officially receive the 10th graders today under the popular CBE curriculum, parents across the country have been asked to raise concerns about whether the infrastructure needed to cope with the transition has been put in place. Godfrey Nangabo, the head teacher of St. Francis Xavier High School in Shikoti, has assured parents of all efforts through the Ministry of Education to ensure that the infrastructure, along with the teachers trained to facilitate the students, has been properly addressed.
In the meantime, Nangabo has welcomed the large number of students who are continuing to assuring parents that the training will begin when the admission is closed, while promising to strive and support the event to ensure that all students have the opportunity to study.On the other hand, Kenya has mark a historic milestone in education as the first cohort of Grade 10 learners under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system transitions to senior school.Approximately 1.13 million students across the country will begin studies in the newly introduced STEM, Social Sciences, and Arts and Sports pathways, ushering in a skills-focused learning era.
Statistics from the Ministry of Education show that more than half of the transitioning learners have chosen the STEM pathway, 437,000 opted for Social Sciences and 124,000 selected Arts and Sports.Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the admission process will be fully digital, conducted through the same system used during the placement exercise, to enhance transparency and efficiency. He added that by the end of the week, the ministry expects to have a clear picture of how many students have reported to schools.
While the transition is celebrated as a milestone, it faces significant challenges, including a shortage of teachers, infrastructure gaps and the urgent need to deliver textbooks to the 1.13 million students.
